STAMFORD -- If Gov. Dannel P. Malloy gets his way, the University of Connecticut's Stamford campus will be in line for a big-time expansion on the way to turning the state's flagship public university into an "economic driver" for the state's lagging economy.

The extension comes as part of Malloy's proposed 10-year, $1.67 billion Next Generation Connecticut program.

If all goes as planned -- including getting approval from the Connecticut General Assembly -- the downtown Stamford campus would see new digital media and business majors, along with a 110 percent jump in enrollment, 35 new faculty members and housing for students.

The goal, Malloy said, was to leverage the University of Connecticut as an economic engine for the state, the way other states, like North Carolina and Virginia, have done with their big public universities.

"Finally we're the students, and finally we're learning," said Malloy, who taught as an adjunct professor at the campus while serving as mayor of Stamford.

"Ultimately what we're going to do is take a top 25 university and make it a top 10 university," he said.

In addition to the expanded Stamford campus, the university's main campus at Storrs will see improvements focusing especially on science, technology, engineering and math.

The Greater Hartford campus, currently in West Hartford, would move to downtown Hartford in the plan, as well.

The governor said investments like his Next Generation plan were "the kind of investments we should've been making" in Connecticut to reverse 22 years of failure to grow jobs.

Connecticut shares that distinction with Michigan, but "quite frankly, Michigan had an excuse" with the failing auto industry, Malloy said.

In Stamford, Next Generation focuses on tapping into the area's financial and media companies, including the NBC Sports Network, Lone Pine Capital, GE Capital and Blue Sky Studios.

As far as housing goes, details were scant.

In the short term, it would likely involve renting apartments or hotel rooms for students that would probably be subsidized by the university.

In the long-term, Malloy said, the state would explore public-private partnerships, and said that the housing might get away from a typical dorm set-up.

University of Connecticut President Susan Herbst said the state would be "left in the dust" without these investments.

"We were a great state, we want to be one into the future and we need some very big ideas in order to get there," she said. "If we don't act now, after so many years of passivity, I'm sure most of the ambitious people we create in this state will leave this state forever."

UConn's Stamford campus, according to Herbst, "never really got the attention it deserved," but Malloy's plan would change that.

Currently, the Stamford campus offers 10 undergraduate degrees -- including business administration and economics -- that can be completed at the campus.

Students can also start their degrees in Stamford before moving to Storrs to complete their degrees.